no end of something

1996 - Frank McCourt - Angela's Ashes - If I could have Mrs. Leibowitz and Minnie for mothers at the same time I'd have no end of soup and mashed potatoes.

RELATED IDIOMS :

all ends up

completely – informal

1921 - A. W. Myers - Twenty Years of Lawn Tennis - Barrett beat him all ends up in an early round.

at the end of the day

when everything is taken into consideration - British informal

1995 - Jayne Miller - Voxpop - Today I've been giving out leaflets. You don't have to. But at the end of the day, it's worth it.

at the end of your tether

having no patience, resources or energy left to cope with something

A North American variant of this expression is at the end of your rope and in both cases the image is that of a grazing animal tethered on a rope that allows it a certain range in which to move but which at full stretch prohibits further movement.

at a loose end

having nothing to do

not knowing what to do

A North American variant of this expression is at loose ends.

be at your wits end

be overwhelmed with difficulties and at a loss as to what to do next

the beginning of the end

the event or development to which the conclusion or failure of something can be traced

1992 - H. Norman - Schwartzkopf - It Doesn't Take a Hero - I heard about D-Day on the radio. The announcer quoted Ohio governor John Bricker's now-famous line that this was the beginning of the end of the forces of evil.

be on the receiving end = be at the receiving end

be subjected to something unpleasant - informal

be thrown in at the deep end

face a difficult problem or undertaking with little experience of it – Informal

burn the candle at both ends

lavish energy or resources in more than one direction at the same time

go to bed late and get up early

the dirty end of the stick

the difficult or unpleasant part of a task or situation – informal

2000 - Sunday Times : Johannesburg - I still feel a bit sorry for Hugh, he always seems to get the dirty end of the stick.

end in tears

have an unhappy or unpleasant outcome (often used as a warning) – British

1992 - Iain Banks - The Crow Road - Well, let them get married. The earlier the better; it would end in tears. Let them rush into it, let them repent at leisure.

end it all

commit suicide

1993 - Ray Shell - iCED Quentin thought… he'd jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and make the papers. At least he'd end it all in a blaze of media glory.

the end justifies the means

wrong or unfair methods may be used if the overall goal is good

The Roman poet Ovid expresses this concept in Heroides as exitus acta probat meaning the outcome justifies the actions.

the end of civilization as we know it

the complete collapse of ordered society

used to indicate that someone is being alarmist or is overreacting to a trivial inconvenience or blunder as if it were enormously significant and catastrophic

This expression is supposedly a cinematic cliché and was actually used in the film Citizen Kane (1941) : a project which would mean the end of civilization as we know it.

1999 - Select - The giant, dreadlocked rapper's third album contains extensive deliberations on the end of civilisation as we know it.

the end of the road = the end of the road line

the point beyond which progress or survival cannot continue

end of story

used to emphasize that there is nothing more to add on the subject just mentioned – informal

1998 – Times - Parents are role models. Footballers are picked for teams because they are good at football. End of story.

the end of the world

a complete disaster – informal

This expression comes from the idea of the termination of life on earth as the ultimate catastrophe, but is often used with the negative as a reassurance that a mistake or setback is not that important.

1994 - Face - If people are buying my records that's good. But if they're not it's not the end of the world.

get your end away = have your end away

have sex – British

vulgar slang

get the wrong end of the stick

misunderstand someone or something completely

go off the deep end

give way immediately to anger or emotion - informal

This expression refers to the deep end of a swimming pool where the diving board is located. In the USA the phrase has also developed the meaning go mad…but in either sense the underlying idea is of a sudden explosive loss of self-control.